Shining Stars- The Arc of Delaware County Celebrates Outstanding Achievements

 

The Arc of Delaware County held its Annual Membership Meeting and Awards Ceremony on June 13th at SUNY Delhi. Over 30 beautiful orange and yellow flower arrangements adorned the tables and highlighted The Arc of Delaware County’s new logo and brand.  Created by people at The Arc’s Resources for Industry facility, they lent an elegant touch to this festive event.

In addition to electing new officers and board members, this annual event celebrates the successes of individuals and contributions of community partners whose actions impact and improve the lives of people with disabilities.

Officers and Directors that were sworn in to office by Wayne Marshfield, Hamden Town Supervisor, for the 2014-2015 terms are: President, Robin Evanitsky; Vice President, Ira McIntosh; Secretary, Sandra Bullis; Treasurer, Lee Marigliano.  Directors for the 2014-2016 terms include: Sandra Bullis, Lori Cetta, Robin Evanitsky, Lee Marigliano, Ira McIntosh, Gerda van Leeuwen and Ruth Vitale. They join Thomas Banks, Mary Jane Giarrusso-Wilkin, Bonnie Martin, Robert Rothenberg, Nat Thomas and James Warren whose 2 year terms expire in 2015.

After the business meeting, award winners’ accomplishments were highlighted in speeches by staff, friends, and community members who shared their thoughts and those of the peers who nominated them for Outstanding Achievement awards.  This year’s winners received “Shining Star” trophies from The Arc and Certificates of Recognition from Senator John Bonacic, Assemblyman Clifford Crouch, and Congressman Chris Gibson.

Outstanding Achievement Awards were presented to individuals who have been an inspiration to others through their personal perseverance, and individual growth.  Award winners included Karlie McCool, Maria Villacorta, Jacob Alvarez III, Marlana Volpe, Rhonda Reynolds, and an individual from Community Living Skills, Walton.

Community recognition awards were presented to three individuals. Bonnie Hamilton, Director of Public Health received Partner of the Year Award which is presented to the community partner that has done the most to enhance opportunities for individuals with disabilities in Delaware County. Beverly Tuthill, Carousel Children’s Services Director shared, “Bonnie has been a devoted advocate for children with disabilities for more than 30 years. She looks for innovative ways of getting a child’s needs met when traditional methods aren’t working or aren’t available.”

The Father Eugene Willis Good Neighbor Award was presented to Chester (Chet) Delameter, Jr. This award celebrates people who embody the spirit of being kind and neighborly and supports the involvement of people with disabilities in their community. Chet, a professional clown was introduced to Henry Kamp who shared his love of performing. Chet shared, “We hit it off right away and now we perform at Senior Meal sites and at the THRIVE program in Hamden. We’ve been performing together for 3 years and I really enjoy it!”

Dr. Amber Tatnall, Assistant Professor of Psychology, SUNY Delhi received the Dr. Gerald Burday Professional Excellence Award, an award that recognizes individuals who encourage growth and help people reach their true potential.  In 3 short years, Dr. Tatnall has greatly expanded inclusive learning opportunities for individuals with disabilities including hosting 12 individuals in her psychology classes, developing the “Study Buddy” program where SUNY and Arc students work together on projects outside of class, working with the O’Connor Center to have Arc participants join with SUNY students in community volunteer activities, and creating an “Inclusive Learning” link on the SUNY Delhi website.

Emotions ran high as people reflected on the accomplishments of those recognized at this year’s event. Kathryn Snyder an employee of Kiddee Corner preschool in Stamford where Marlena Volpe volunteers shared “We have a saying at Kiddie Corner and it is Kiddie Corner is not just a preschool it is a family and we are very happy to have Marlana as part of our family.” And Leanne Norwood, sister of Rhonda Reynolds said, “I’ve been very proud of what she (Rhonda) has accomplished because of the programs and services she receives from The Arc.”

To learn more about The Arc of Delaware County and how you can be involved as a member, volunteer or employee, visit our website at: www.delarc.org. And to view more photos of this event visit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/delarc/sets/72157644826288927/

Consolidated Supports and Services Training Offered

Consolidated Supports and Services is a self directed OPWDD service option that empowers people with disabilities and their circle of support to design and manage services based on the needs and desires of the individual.

Kathy Creagh, Individualized Services Coordinator from OPWDD will present information on this new option so that you can determine if this new service is right for you or your loved one. Join us July 15th, 5:30 – 6:30 pm for this free presentation at the Delaware County Resource Center, 34570 State Hwy 10, Hamden, NY. Register by July 11th by contacting Kim Shaw at 607/865-7126 ext. 104.

(People with disabilities, families, advocates, and service providers encouraged to attend.)

Townsend Elementary School Recieves 1st Place Award in Everybody Can Contest.

Awards were presented to Nancy Gavett’s 5th grade class at Townsend Elementary school, Walton, NY on May 7th. The entire class won first place in the countywide “Everybody Can” contest in the literature category.

Each year, The Arc of Delaware County and Delta Kappa Gamma sponsor the “Everybody Can” contest to build awareness , understanding and acceptance of people with disabilities. On behalf of the class Nancy Gavett accepted a check in the amount of $100 and a Certificate of Excellence. Principal Mike Snider accepted a plaque recognizing Townsend Elementary School’s commitment to increasing understanding and acceptance of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and for creating “Ambassador’s of Change”. For more information about the 2014 Everybody Can Contest visit: Celebrating National Developmental Disability Awareness Month through Recognizing “Everybody Can”



Pictured in the photo is the 5th grade class and first row: (in purple) Barbara Thompson, The Arc of Delaware County and next to her is Nancy   Gavett, 5th grade teacher. On the far right, first row is Pam Thompson, Delta Kappa Gamma. Standing on the far right, back row is Mike Snider, Principal.

 

 

The Arc of Delaware County and SUNY Delhi Partnership Highlighted in Think College

The Arc of Delaware County has been working with "Think College" to highlight the strong relationship that has developed over the years between our agency and the State University at Delhi. Think College is a national organization dedicated to developing, expanding, and improving inclusive higher education options for people with intellectual disability. 

The story, A Shared Mission: Adult Agencies and Colleges Working Together to Support Lifelong Learning is told from the point of view of a faculty member, Dr. Amber Tatnall who has been a strong supporter of inclusive learning and taught several inclusive classes. In the story she reveals the depth and breadth of the relationship between SUNY Delhi and The Arc which has provided so much opportunity and enrichment for both college students and people with disabilities. 

We hope this story will provide insight and illustrate a successful partnership model so that other organizations will be inspired to reach out to institutions of learning in their communities and create their own opportunities for learning. To view the story: http://www.thinkcollege.net/images/stories/24_SUNYDelhi_ArcF.pdf

Bringing Baskets of Cheer

L to R: Maria Villacorta, Roseanna Starkweather, and Kelly Piskacek

On April 17th, an active group of 4 self advocates from Community Living Skills in Arkville brought joy and happiness to several residents of the Kirkside Home for Adults in Roxbury and Mountain Laurel Gardens in Arkville  Using Easter baskets donated to them by Dollar General, Kelly Piskacek, Roseanna Starkweather, Cathy Ippolito, and Maria Villacorta, filled them with candy and messages of friendship.

“These ladies like to celebrate holidays and always look for ways to brighten the holidays for others.” shared Heidi Friedman, Life Coach and mentor to the group. “Because we had the baskets the idea just naturally grew into this splendid event.”

The idea was “hatched” at a meeting in January. In making the decision to take on this project, Roseanna shared that she thought that the adult home residents would enjoy the candy and Maria said that it would make her happy to deliver the candy to the people.

For over 5 years these ladies have enjoyed a close connection with residents of Kirkside. They regularly participate in many activities together including bible study, bingo, attend sing-a-longs and luncheons. And with the ladies also attending bingo at Laurel Gardens, Kelly felt that their idea of making and delivering the baskets was “A great way to make new friends”.

After a full day of delivering over 35 baskets, the women happily reflected on their day. Cathy summed it by saying, “I’m sure that the folks we give the candy to will be happy to be remembered.”

To view more photos of these ladies making deliveries: Baskets of Cheer

Cathy Ippolito

“Third Time's A Charm"- A Story of Success through Perseverance"

L to R: Janet Stoop, Lisa Nichols, Amanda Green, Kayla Constable

“Third Time’s a Charm!” This is an old familiar saying but most people misinterpret it’s  meaning to believe  that if you repeat an action to achieve desired results,  odds will be that whatever you were trying to do or achieve will magically happen on at least the 3rd try. But what this quote is trying to convey is that by practice, perseverance, and never giving up you will achieve your goal- eventually! Don’t give up, keep on-keeping on!
 

A young lady, Amanda Green is a living example of success after perseverance. One of her longstanding goals was to obtain her General Education Diploma (GED). In the past 2 years she has really focused on her goal by attending Tuesday night classes held at Townsend Elementary School library and then by working 4 hours each day during the week with Kayla Constable, her primary Life Coach at The Arc of Delaware County. Twice she did not pass the exam. She was very disappointed and shared, “When I said I wanted to quit, Lisa Nichols (a lead Life Coach at The Arc) said “We don’t give up here, I don’t let my kids give up and I’m not letting you give up.” That was that, she turned her back and walked away and I started studying again.”
 

When asked what her hardest subjects were, “Quadratic equations!” she exclaimed. “But now I have them down pat.  Also, writing countless essays was hard too. I had thought I could write about whatever I wanted to and it was hard to write about something I was told to write about (a topic not of her choice).”
 

After taking the GED exam for the 3rd time, Amanda would occasionally log on to their website to see if the grades were posted. When she logged on Feb. 20th she saw a message that indicated “diploma sent”.  Stunned and unsure what the message really meant, she ran down the hall to show Janet Stoop, the Life Coach who had taken her  to her Tuesday night GED Classes. Janet confirmed to her that it was true, she passed!  Amanda shared that she burst into tears of happiness as did her mother when Amanda shared the good news with her.
 

When asked what she would say to others thinking about or currently working on their GED, she replied,” The hardest part is doing it every day, trying to schedule time to fit it in. It’s hard, but don’t give up! It is WORTH IT!”

With GED in hand,  Amanda has her sights set on accomplishing her dream of becoming a Teacher’s Aide.  With her determination and discipline there is no doubt that her dreams will become reality.

Celebrating National Developmental Disability Awareness Month through Recognizing “Everybody Can”

March is National Developmental Disability Awareness Month.  There is no time more fitting to celebrate all that local students have learned about developmental and other disabilities as a result of their participation in the “Everybody Can” contest hosted by The Arc of Delaware County  and Delta Kappa Gamma.

 “The goal of this contest is to raise awareness and understanding of intellectual and developmental disabilities and to instill acceptance of differences at a young age, very similar to the goals of National Developmental Disability Awareness Month but on a smaller scale”, “states Catherine Tweedie, Director of Community Relations at The Arc of Delaware County, “From the entries submitted, it was apparent that students had fun while learning about people and how they didn’t let disabilities stand in the way of their accomplishments!”

This year’s contest had a bit of twist, challenging students to research famous people who had disabilities and, through their project,  demonstrate their knowledge of the disability and the accomplishments of the famous person(s) they selected.  A variety of very creative submissions were received from Delaware County students in grades K-8 in the categories of art, media, and literature.

The Arc of Delaware County and Delta Kappa Gamma enjoyed reviewing all the entries, are pleased to announce the following winners of the 4th annual “Everybody Can” contest.

Countywide winners:

Art: Alexis Redden, Michaela Valkavich, 7th Graders from Andes Central School for their mobile that portrayed famous people who had a variety of disabilities including Down’s syndrome, being blind, deaf, or loss of the use of their limbs.  The artistic elements of the project included photos and short biographies which were incorporated into a mobile with an overall film/movie star motif.
Media: Haley Kosier, 5th Grader from South Kortright Central School for her PowerPoint, “Never Say Never” which highlighted the accomplishments of former president Franklin D. Roosevelt, Stevie Wonder, and Helen Keller.
Literature: Nancy Gavett’s 5th grade class from Townsend Elementary School in Walton compiled a book with photos and stories, which was illustrated with pictures of their artistic character interpretations portraying 21 famous people who through their researched, they learned each had some type of disability, including Einstein, David Beckham, Tom Cruise, Whoopi Goldberg and many others.

Honorable Mention:

Art: Joanna Grommeek, Jordan Finch, and Morgan Hungerford, from South Kortright Central School created a life-size poster about Bella Thorne and dyslexia.

Media: George Haynes and Gavyn Bryant from  South Kortright Central School created a PowerPoint entitled “Never Give Up”.

A  Teachers Choice Award selected for a uniquely creative book about baseball player James Anthony Abbott; this project was designed and produced by Joey Shafer, Joe Ploutz, Aydyn Tweedie from South Kortright Central School.

Participating schools are to be commended for their support of this contest and in creating “Ambassadors of Change” – students who appreciate the abilities of all people and embrace the belief that when given the opportunity, everybody can!

To view the winning entries, visit www.delarc.org and click on the news story, “Everybody Can- Goes Famous”.